Status report on SME succession: Planning steady at a high level

According to recent data collected by the KfW SME Panel, around 227,000 owner-managers of small and medium-sized enterprises want to place their business into the hands of a successor by the end of 2020. More than one third of these enterprises have already found a successor. A further quarter are conducting negotiations. The current generation of owner-managers is generally more aware of the need to face the challenges of generational change in a timely manner. Succession outside the family is generally on the rise. Most succession planners have a sound earnings situation, profitability and equity base. Nevertheless, not all will succeed in handing over their business. Time is running out for 36,000 SMEs in particular. They want to complete their succession in the next two years but have not even taken the first step yet. And the main bottleneck remains: The pool of emerging entrepreneurs is too small.

Status report on SME succession: Planning steady at a high level(PDF, 346 KB, non-accessible)

Press release